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"The Recovery College is such a rewarding service to work in"

I am passionate about the work that the organisation achieves. I wanted to be a part of developing the services that we deliver in order to support the needs of our clients.

I am the Service Manager for the Brighton and Hove Recovery College. I came into the post in August 2018.

My role is varied and my main responsibilities include the day-to-day running of the Recovery College, managing the administrative staff, Quality and Assessment Manager, Volunteer and Student Lead, and the Peer Trainers.

I work closely with our stakeholders, mainly Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust and our Commissioners, to review and develop the service. I am responsible for ensuring we adhere to policies and review procedures, also ensuring that we are meeting the requirements of our contract, through monitoring and contract reviews. I liaise with other recovery colleges to look at trends and developing themes.

No one day is the same and they vary dependent on whether it is term time. I conduct regular supervisions with staff, chair team meetings, and facilitate development days. I attend internal meetings related to the College, the Employment and Learning Department and the Community Support Services Division. I attend external meetings with our commissioners, Sussex Partnership and other recovery colleges. I am always looking at our data, ensuring we are meeting our targets and responding to the needs of the College.

The Recovery College is such a rewarding service to work in. The enthusiasm and commitment of the staff shines through with the results that are achieved by our students. To be able to see the outcomes of the courses is a credit to the staff involved in developing and delivering them.

The response that the College receives to the courses is clear to see in the demand. Seeing students come to the Open Day and make that decision to help themselves in their recovery journey is the reason I work in mental health. I can see the huge impact it has on students’ wellbeing and life.

I have worked in Southdown’s mental health services for 11 years, starting my career here as a Floating Support worker for the Brighton Independent Living Scheme (ILS) team, providing one-to-one support around housing and mental health.

I moved into management in 2009, managing the Brighton Housing Support Team, then moved to East Sussex and managed a long term floating support service. I have completed secondments in the Client Involvement Team and the Training Department.

I am passionate about the work that the organisation achieves. I wanted to be a part of developing the services that we deliver in order to support the needs of our clients.

I am proud of the services that I have managed, and of developing staff and supporting them in their careers and the support they deliver. The rewards for me are the positive outcomes that our support has achieved over the years and how the support has made a difference to an individual’s quality of life.

Delivered as a partnership with the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, the Brighton and Hove Recovery College uses education in a supportive learning environment to help people with mental health challenges become experts in their own self-care and recovery. The College provides a wide range of courses which are co-produced and co-delivered by people with lived experience of mental health challenges and are delivered in community and educational venues across Brighton and Hove.

Southdown is an exempt charity registered with the Regulator of Social Housing (L1829) and committed to the National Housing Federation’s code of governance. Southdown is also a registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefits Societies Act 2014 (20755R).